Chapter 149

Olivia POV

I’d seen humans before, though never more than two at the same time. At first glance, they’d seemed like wolves in their skin, then at second glance, they’d clearly been neither alpha, beta, nor omega, which sometimes did happen with wolves. Usually, when a pup was born without a secondary gender, they were raised with care and then were asked—and only asked, not forced—to choose their orientation.

Almost always, ungendered wolves opted to live as betas. When I saw my first human, that had been my assumption, and I’d told Mother so. She’d laughed then and explained the mason she’d brought in for repairs to the keep temple was a human male.

I’d been fascinated for a bit, then bored in the way that pups became, and I largely forgot about the human. They were rare in wolf territory, but hardly exotic, especially when I discovered that differences in their skin color did not correspond to the color of their fur.

As an adult, I realized humans fit into wolf culture so well because they worked hard to do so. They dressed, walked, and talked in the manner of wolves, when they weren’t keeping to themselves, that is.

This was not the case with the human contingent of eleven people who joined Elroy, me, and our betas in the council’s chambers. No one would mistake them for wolves.

Their clothes were nothing like wolf garments, for one thing. Instead of robes and coats, they wore closely tailored pants, shirts, and jackets. The males wore little ribbons I knew were properly called “ties” around their necks and down their torsos. The females wore either pants or skirts that ended at their knees, and instead of ties, they wore ornate necklaces or colorful scarves.

They also had no real smell. They didn’t just smell like “not pack.” Scenting them discreetly brought me no information, just the odors of light sweat and the detergents used on their clothes. I knew some humans used perfumes, but these did not. I assumed it was out of courtesy, but I thought that I would prefer them to smell of flowers or musk than this note-free blankness in the air.

But the differences in clothing and scent were nothing compared to how differently they moved. A wolf in their skin moved differently according to their hunting style. Alphas strode, paced, stalked, and pounced. Betas marched. Omegas followed and took care to issue no challenge in their stance or attitude.

These humans simply walked. Their shoulders were relaxed but not hunched. Their arms swung loosely yet with purpose, balancing out the movement of their trunks. Their heads moved without that alpha’s lift of a chin, a beta’s deep attention, or an omega’s darting. They looked left and right, up and down calmly and smoothly, signaling nothing more than interest.

They also did not move in tandem like Pack. They sprawled out like pups, yet had no trouble growing close. They offered each other personal space but did not establish territory. I wished I could see them dance. Would they move in synch then?

As we all took our seats, Elroy and I and our betas facing the near-dozen humans who sat with the same quietly foreign quality they had shown while walking.

Their leader, who had identified himself as Johnsmith, sat in the center of them, five humans on either side. He waited for Elroy to speak, which showed he’d either been around wolves before or had studied. I looked for signs of which was true, but it was fruitless. These creatures, who at first seemed so familiar, were completely alien to me.

Elroy looked them over calmly before asking at last, “What brings you all to Stormhowl Pack?”

Johnsmith looked surprised, but it was only around his eyes. His body didn’t move at all. I thought perhaps this was a show of discipline, but it might just have been tact.

“I thought this was Lunaris,” he said, and I noticed his speech, though heavily accented, was well modulated and clearly enunciated.

“It was,” Elroy told him. “But now it is again Stormhowl.”

Johnsmith nodded. “I assume this is a wolf matter that need not concern our business here.”

Elroy showed no sign of the irritation he must have felt in having to repeat himself. “Which is?”

“Excuse me for my manners,” Johnsmith said, surprising me. “I should have answered you before asking a question of my own.”

Elroy shrugged and looked slightly amused. “It wasn’t really a question.”

Johnsmith nodded. “Generous of you. We are here about Emma of Ravencrest.”

“I thought you might be.” Elroy gestured toward me. “This is a matter that also concerns our Luna. This is my mate, Olivia.”

“It is an honor to meet the Luna of Stormhowl,” Johnsmith said.

OK, he’s definitely studied wolf culture, I thought to Elroy. He sent back his agreement.

“It is an honor to welcome envoys from Albsraca,” said aloud.

We all nodded at each other. I noticed two of the humans, one male and the other female, were smiling slightly to themselves the way that pups did when they were uncomfortable.

What are we like to them? I asked Elroy and myself. It was a sudden and powerful thought. If they were so strange to us, we had to be equally strange to them. Could they scent us? Did they think the ways we moved and dressed were odd? They must have, surely.

If this meeting goes well, we can ask them.

“A few years ago, your Emma arrived in Albsraca claiming to be a scholar of human culture,” Johnsmith explained.

“You did not realize her true intent at the time?” I asked.

“No.” Johnsmith looked regretful. “We welcomed her and thought we would have an exchange of cultural information. Soon, however, we realized her interests in our society were quite limited.”

“She wanted to know about our magics,” said a human female who had not been introduced. Elroy didn’t object, however, so I let it go as well. “Particularly those regarding mental and emotional influence over others.”

“Which you taught her,” Elroy said.

“No,” Johnsmith said with mild forcefulness. “We asked her to leave.”

“Instead,” the female said, “she disappeared from our city. We sought her, but I confess that when months had passed, we largely forgot about her until we learned she was studying with a black magic tribe we call the Priestesses.”

“We went to apprehend her,” Johnsmith said, and I noticed how smoothly he and the female were talking in tandem. Were they mated, perhaps? “But she eluded us.”

“Eluded?” I asked. “Then you have not come here to plead for her pardon?”

Johnsmith snorted, which was recognizable but quite different from how a wolf would snort. It was somewhat comical, which I suspected was not the effect he was intending. “Pardon? Hardly.”

“Then what do you want from us, Johnsmith?” Elroy asked.

The human’s eyes hardened in a way that was almost wolf-like. He nodded to a male on his left who opened a backpack he had brought in with him and brought out a long length of heavy iron chain. I was impressed with his strength in having carried it, and I saw a hint of white magic gleam along its edges.

“She’s a criminal who broke just about every law we have in the books,” Johnsmith said. We want to take her back to Albsraca and put her on trial.”

“And if she’s found guilty of breaking your crimes?” I asked.

“Then she’ll never know a life outside prison bars again.”